Whether using cars or public transport, people routinely complain of deteriorating road conditions and chaotic traffic. In particular, potholes, ruts, and poorly planned speed breakers are pet peeves. For years, the road transportation industry has been plagued by high upkeep costs, stressful traffic conditions, and frequent accidents. The National Safety Council reported 38,300 deaths and 4.4 million injured on US roads alone in 20151. More recently, in 2017, India saw 3,597 deaths caused by bad roads as opposed to 803 deaths because of terror-related incidents.2 Poor road surface conditions typically lead to more wear and tear and breakdown of vehicles.…

Missed Part 1 of this blog? Read it here. Geospatial information systems (GIS) have made it critical to use data for networks. And these are not just digitalized maps that can offer information to third parties. GIS has today transformed into data centers that can be customized in several ways based on the purpose for which they are needed. They can also be used to prioritize power projects and bundle different projects together for more cost-effective work. Furthermore, the outlook of network operators to data sharing must shift from “need to know” basis to a presumption of disclosure. In particular,…

The electric utility industry is undergoing a major transformation driven by new sources of energy generation (solar and wind power), consumer demand for faster and more affordable services, cybersecurity, and big data. Gathering data to harvest insights and forecast more accurately offers a significant potential to optimize the way utilities operate. Emerging modern grids demand accurate data and as-operated network information to function optimally. Given these business imperatives, utilities must overcome current constraints and limitations to enable essential operations data quality. Good quality data enables the utility to understand network and asset behavior, operating conditions, and their impact on customer…

In part one of this blog series, we discussed the key trends that stood out at the Farnborough International Airshow this year-from the focus on digital to the reemergence of supersonic and the Brexit debate. Part two highlights the Cyient impact and our capabilities and solutions that were on display at FIA 2018. Our presence at FIA this year was marked by the showcase of our avionics strength, our aftermarket support, digital technologies, and design-led manufacturing capabilities. However, what stood out included: The Transmit and Receive Module Product Launch: We successfully launched our X-Band TRM product, which provides an important…

In this two-part blog series, we recap the highlights of one of the A&D industry's flagship events and revisit the Cyient capabilities and solutions that were on display at the show. The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) 2018, a flagship event for the aerospace and defense industry, provides a platform for A&D professionals to address challenges, discuss solutions, and exhibit their capabilities. This year's edition of the FIA was a success on many fronts. Overall attendance was up 10%, the airshow recorded more than 1,400 commercial aircraft orders valued at $154 billion, and there were an additional 1,432 deals for engines…

In 2003, when Cyient started its engagement with Bombardier Transportation, little did I know that 15 years later I would still be deeply involved with the Bombardier Transportation center of excellence at Cyient, working closely with one of the world’s leading rail company. It has been an incredible journey—what started out as a six-member team, today, constitutes a 1,200-person strong center of excellence at Hyderabad delivering innovative, customer-centric solutions to Bombardier. When I think back on all the work we have delivered over the years, some key projects stand out—for their complexity, the challenge they posed, and the value they…

“Sitting on the ice, overlooking the ocean, there was a sense of achievement of having made it to the Far South, the 7th continent, the last wilderness on Earth—Antarctica!” – Prathyusha Parakala Prathyusha Parakala, a software professional turned radio jockey, had a lifelong dream of going on an Antarctica expedition. While pursuing a two-year fellowship with the NGO “Teach for India,” she found herself attending a talk by polar explorer Robert Swan, the first person in history to walk to both the North and South Poles. Inspired by Robert and his 2041 Foundation’s mission to raise awareness about climate change…

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, manufacturers and service providers must adopt an agile approach to respond to internal and external changes in their industry. They must also have the ability to initiate transformation without reducing value delivered to customers. Flexible operations provide the ability to meet customer demands while also regulating costs. For sectors that rely heavily on technology, such as industrial and heavy equipment, infrastructure, telecom, aerospace, rail, and semiconductor, the ability to operate efficiently and remain competitive is even more critical. The Difficult Road to Achieving Operational Flexibility Businesses seek flexible operation models to…

Telecom service providers in Europe are under increasing pressure from regulatory bodies to employ advanced technologies for providing ultrafast Internet speed to their customers. Full-fiber broadband is considered to be a much faster and approximately five times more reliable alternative to the currently used wired broadband solutions. Records, however, show that in the UK, only 3% of homes and offices use fiber-based broadband networks as against 97% in Japan¹. The challenge of slow networks is more acute in rural and underdeveloped areas. Despite paying the same tariffs as their urban counterparts, customers in these regions do not necessarily enjoy broadband…

From the pages of sci-fi novels and movie scripts, self-driving or autonomous cars are finally a reality and are taking space on the roads. This has been possible by leveraging advanced technologies such as GPS sensing knowledge, sensors and other equipment used to manage driving. However, to be truly effective, autonomous cars need detailed maps of roads that clearly display obstacles and other hazards. Such maps are highly-critical because even the most sophisticated sensors are not enough to help a car navigate through changing environments safely enough while letting the occupants relax or doze off. Digital maps help by providing…

Given the increasing shortage of parking spaces in urban areas, many of us often end up driving around looking for safe parking spots on more than one occasion. Over the past two decades, while cars have been getting technically rich with infotainment systems, sensors, and park-assist features, parking lots have largely lagged behind in terms of innovation and technological updates. However, things are set to change now. A report by Frost and Sullivan suggests that an investment of approximately $200 to $250 million is expected in this industry through 2019 and by 2020 there will be a million smart parking…

At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security. – Jodi Rell, former Governor of Connecticut Safety has been one of the biggest concerns in the railways-a no-brainer given that more than 500 major and minor rail accidents have occurred across the world in the past ten years alone. Despite constructive and comprehensive measures to reduce mishaps, news of deadly rail accidents continues to be splashed across front pages of global newspapers. The question that rail operators and OEMs must ask is: what can be done to move toward a future of zero accidents? One of…

With the growth of advanced technology in high-speed trains, automated signaling systems, and a heightened focus on safety and cost optimization, the need for standardization in the railway sector has become more critical than ever. In my previous blog on this topic, I had touched upon the key benefits of technical documentation, the impact that a lack of structured and well-defined process could have on the rail industry, and the steps that could be taken to standardize the technical documentation. Based on my experience of over 30 years in the aerospace and rail industry, I can safely say that there…

In rolling stock projects, often there is a lack of consensus among major stakeholders about the structure, format, and content of technical documents related to train operations, maintenance, spare parts and training manuals. Even in quintessential metro or high-speed rail projects from the best-in-class railways and transport agencies, lack of clarity in requirements for technical documents is commonly seen, despite its vital importance. In some cases, requirements are specified but are vague and open to interpretation for people involved in the value chain, namely train builder, subsystem suppliers, and ultimately the technical authors and illustrators responsible for the creation of…

The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the most talked about IT trends, and many have compared its impact to the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th century. While this may sound like an exaggerated analogy, there is no denying that IoT has the potential to reinvent verticals such as manufacturing, retail, and transportation to name a few. The rail industry has been one of the early adopters of this emerging technology. Attributes of IoT are incorporated into modern trains that have multiple control units to manage technology systems while communicating with each other. The focus, however, has primarily…

As the Internet of Things (IoT) gets more pervasive, industrial engineers are looking at new possibilities on how the technology can be leveraged for greater business impact. The rail industry is in a position where it can exploit the potential of industrial IoT and evolve without substantially increasing its investments in infrastructure. We look at five ways in which IoT can and has started redefining the railways bringing in increased efficiency and enhanced passenger experience: 1. Greater Reliability and Safety A train that suddenly breaks down on the track can ruin the day of its passengers, lead to delays across…

In business, cost structures require constant attention. Even companies with a good history of profit margins continually target areas where they can further streamline costs. The increasingly competitive marketplace, shrinking product development cycles, ongoing leaps in technology, changing taxation policies, and environmental sensitivities compel organizations to continually drive down their internal costs. However, the sheer scale and complexity of their industrial processes make cost reduction with quality retention difficult to attain. Most companies introduce cost-savings plans in the early stages of their product development cycle but implementing cost-saving measures to achieve financial targets along the way can be a struggle.…

Healthcare is moving away from hospital environs to patients’ personal rooms. From a physician-centric treatment to patient-preferred healthcare, technology is creating a positive impact on the ability to manage lifestyle diseases and personal health. How is personal health changing the medical landscape? Personal Health Wearables are slowly but surely transforming medical care. Wearable medical devices sales are expected to top $55 billion USD in revenue in 2022, increasing from $10.5 billion USD in 2017, as per ABI research. Medical technology companies will need to keep up with creative, regulatory and quality compliant and value-driven engineering and manufacturing solutions to keep…

It's not every day that you get an opportunity to do something that can potentially disrupt and redefine the industry. Working with drones offers one such possibility. The world over, regulators are addressing questions and issues around the use of drones in business and industry. With significant growth in the use of drones across India, the country is following suit. In a significant step, the Indian Government on November 2, 2017, released draft guidelines that outline the first legal framework for the usage of drones and UAVs in the country. These guidelines are likely to provide a huge fillip to…

The meteoric growth of digitalization has readied us for smart cities, and telecom service providers have played a significant role in supporting these concepts. But are traditional service providers really ready and equipped to take up smart projects? Significance of Smart Cities If we look at the stats, the urban population is heading towards 70% globally by 2050. Smart cities can play a significant role in improving the quality of urban life by providing better access to basic amenities including water, power, transport, health, and communications. What makes a city smarter? It is network connectivity—faster, easier, and available 24/7. The…

Innovation is an outcome of ingenuity and passion. Just as the iPod and iTunes disrupted the music industry back in 2001, true entrepreneurs are on the lookout for next idea that can break barriers and reconfigure industries. However, the idea of innovation does not always need to create the next Google or Apple—it can also be that subtle achievement that makes a big impact and helps users pay bills faster, or ensure seamless asset maintenance for streamlined operations, or even optimize the amount of fertilizers used in an agricultural plot. An example was set in the UK by Hampshire County’s…

Equipment manufacturers, EPCs and power and process plant owners/operators commonly face the challenge of keeping their fleet, machinery, and other assets in effective working condition while also reducing the costs of maintenance and time-based repairs. Considering the aggressive time-to-market for these products and services, it’s becoming important to identify the cause of their possible faults or failures before they occur. Emerging technologies like the Internet of Things, big data analytics, and cloud are enabling more vehicles, industrial equipment, and assembly robots to convey their current status to a centralized server making detection of faults easier, more practical, and more direct.…

The idea of disaster management may not necessarily have been in the books of electrical utility companies, but recovery from sudden power outages is critical for the consumers of their services. Regulatory bodies in some countries are enforcing stringent rules to expedite restoration of power disrupted by storms, cyclones, and hurricanes. Compensation to be paid by the suppliers against delayed repair works can run into millions of dollars. What causes these utility companies to be unprepared for interruptions to their services? The reasons have been attributed to the legacy IT systems that are poorly integrated and contain limited information for…

At Cyient, we are passionate about building trusted, long-term relationship with our clients, and delivering business excellence for designing tomorrow together. One of the major strengths that we draw upon is people’s passion for making a difference. Given our focus on passion and excellence, we saw a unique opportunity in partnering with Focus Rapiro Racing—a Germany-based, semi-professional mountain biking team that participates in various races across Europe. FRR's values of teamwork, goal setting, and high performance strongly resonate with our emphasis on building sustainable and long-term relationships with our clients. Our project teams often go beyond providing engineering solutions for…

It’s with great pride that we present our 26th annual report, which showcases the execution of our strategy in being a Design, Build, Operate and Maintain partner to clients across the globe. Armed with this strategy, we have helped clients succeed across their value chain in a complex, digital, and disruptive world. FY2017 was an exceptional year for Cyient. We saw a double-digit growth in our top and bottom lines. Our revenue grew by 16.3% YoY, and the operating profit and the net profit grew by 15.7% and 10.7%, respectively. We have been surpassing the industry average for several years.…

Cyient Collaborates with Microsoft to Create Mixed Reality Ophthalmic Education for LV Prasad Eye Institute Mixed reality not only augments the learning experience by merging real and virtual worlds to give a visual framework but it is also a great way to learn about a given topic in greater detail. When applied to medical education, mixed reality has the potential to provide students a deeper insight into human anatomy and view it from inside out. To buck the trend of using only traditional tools for learning, LV Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) partnered with Cyient to create a transformational learning experience…

The 2017 Engineering Summit brought together over 300 senior participants from the European plant-engineering sector, under the theme, “Time to Change”. CXOs from market leaders Bilfinger, Linde, ThyssenKrupp, M+W Group, SMS Group, Primetals, and others have set the bar high for the sector and demonstrated the importance of utilizing efficient processes and new technology to master challenges arising from market changes, digitalization, and cost. Key lessons learned from the event are below: New business models are necessary Tom Blades, CEO of Bilfinger, showed that the continuous technological innovation pushes the potential of IoT for EPCs. IHS forecasts are in favor…

The meteoric growth of big data and advanced analytics is forcing organizations across industries to relook at their business strategy and processes. Communication Service Providers (CSPs) widely acknowledge that proliferation of data has a significant impact on the way business is done. Based on our interactions with CSPs, we can safely say that a majority of them intent to leverage big data and draw meaningful, actionable insights, to understand customer needs better. The key question is: when can we expect this 'intent' to become a reality? A massive amount of data is being generated every second and is expected to…

Consider this scenario-you are a new-age Communications Service Provider (CSP) trying to stay relevant in today's fast-paced market. You recognize that to deliver innovative digital services to new-age subscribers who are used to instant gratification, you will need to ensure that your IT team is agile and responsive to evolving demands. You also realize that your legacy approach to networking is not designed to meet the insatiable demand for bandwidth intensive applications, and support high-demand cloud-based application and services. So you plan to transition from wide area network (WAN) to software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to manage and orchestrate network…

The technology landscape is rapidly evolving, and client expectations are keeping in pace. A company that constantly strives to live up to those expectations has innovation as its bedrock, industry best practices as its brick and mortar, and is persistent on improvements to make sure it leads the change. To meet its ambitious 2020 goals and lead the change, Cyient has redefined its business, identified growth engines, and based its aspirations around an S3 strategy of offering a strong and evolving mix of ‘services, systems, and solutions’ to clients across industries. In line with this corporate blueprint, Cyient has evolved…

For most university graduates there is one thing on their mind, and that is how and where they can get their first chance of real world work experience in the field of their recently attained expertise. A corresponding challenge for numerous industries and organisations in Australia is obtaining the best and most recent skilled graduates to work for their organisations. This challenge and opportunity provided an opportunity and synergy between Cyient Australia and Western Sydney University. Cyient is a global company and an acknowledged leader of engineering, manufacturing, data analytics, networks and operations solutions, whose New South Wales office is…

Picture this. You are sitting in your garden, but you are able to draw out the blinds in your house or open the door for a visitor with the help of your smartphone. Or in an industrial scenario, you are able to connect thousands of IoT devices without large deployment hubs. These are just some examples of what IoT can do for individuals and businesses. However, to realize IoT’s potential, standardized communication protocols are needed. Recent developments in Bluetooth are set to position the technology as ‘the communication protocol of choice’ for IoT. According to Bluetooth Specialist Interest Group, by…